Athens, Greece, has been one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Europe. Last year, the city had a record 7 million tourists.
30.08.2024 - 12:25 / cntraveler.com / Nast Traveler
Ahhhh, the great American road trip. A chance to put rubber to pavement along our millions of miles of roads and see the nooks and crannies of the country we’d never otherwise see. Road trips can be truly transformative travel journeys, a meditative way to traverse the countryside, meeting interesting people and exploring unusual sites. They’re also a chance to connect with your fellow road trippers, engaging in hours of conversation you wouldn’t have time for at home.
Along with all that good stuff, road trips have the potential for some big pitfalls, too, and in order to make sure your road trip is more life-changing than life-ruining, there are some basic guidelines first-time and veteran road trippers should follow. So, we talked to the experts (including a gas station food evangelist) who shared their savviest road trip tips and tricks—from how to mentally (and physically) prepare for long road ahead to logistical planning recommendations.
When you see a strip of hotels off an Interstate exit hundreds of miles from the nearest city, you may wonder how they ever fill all those rooms. That is, until you need a room and find they’re all sold out. Booking hotels in advance might lock you into ending your day in a certain destination, but it also saves you some headaches.
“If you’re okay with a roadside motel, you might be ok just picking a random spot. But if you want something a little nicer, don’t count on rooms being available,” says Condé Nast Traveler luxury travel specialist Jonathan Alder.
But you don’t always have to sacrifice flexibility and spontaneity for the promise of a place to sleep. “I normally book hotels in advance of the trip, but I like to change my mind on things sometimes,” says Darley Newman, host and producer of PBS’ Travels with Darley. “And if I wanna change the plan to be able to cancel 24 hours in advance, I think it’s really helpful. So I'll pay extra to do that.”
Roadside diners, food trucks, and yes, even gas stations, may surprise you with their tasty regional food.
It might be tempting to make a highway exit franchise row your lunch stop. But settling for processed tacos or sub sandwiches can mean missing out on some fantastic regional food.
“Some of the best expressions of regional food flavors and unique culinary styles can be found in gas stations,” says Frank Beard, a traveling sales rep who’s become an evangelist for the convenience store industry, and once spent an entire month eating at only gas stations. “Just because someone has four walls and a gas pump doesn’t mean they can’t do something different.”
Some of his favorites include Papu’s Café in Kansas City, who has a top-tier chicken shawarma sandwich; Pig Trail Cafe in Arkansas, who puts out one of the
Athens, Greece, has been one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Europe. Last year, the city had a record 7 million tourists.
Aug 30, 2024 • 9 min read
Imagine: You're on a backpacking trip. You stand on the summit of a high mountain. As you look out on the horizon, you can see precisely how far you've come. You take a sip of water from your bottle and, with that simple, cool refreshment, feel a welling sense of pride. Having reached your goal, in that precious moment you embody the effects not only of your physical exertion, but also the meticulous planning that brought you here. Your accomplishment is made possible by your thoughtfulness, your decisions to realize your vision of travel for the sake of pure adventure. The steps you took, no matter how graceful or clumsy, got you here. The view from wherever you stop is merely your reward. And don’t forget, you still must make it back down the hill and home again safely.
Driving between France and Italy this year? You may be forced take a detour as the Mont-Blanc Tunnel, which links the two countries beneath the Alps, is closing for 15 weeks for renovation work.
Aug 26, 2024 • 0 min read
Arguably Greece’s most iconic island group, the Cyclades got their name because, if you squint, the 30-odd main islands form a circle, or , around the sacred island of Delos, birthplace of the twin gods Artemis and Apollo. In the southwestern curve of that circle sit Milos, Sifnos and Serifos, three Aegean islands that share a stark, wild beauty owing in part to the minerals that made them mining hubs well into the last century. (Mining continues on Milos, where it vies with tourism as one of the island’s main industries.)
Hostels are my preferred option when I'm traveling alone.
Thoughts of fall travel might conjure up images of cozy cabins and hiking through fiery red foliage. This autumn, however, a wave of new airline routes from the US is shaking up the usual pumpkin-spice-laced doldrums and offering easy new ways to access exciting destinations. Think city escapes in Northern Africa, beaches on tiny Caribbean islands, and lush nature in Oceania.
It once was one of the South's best-kept secrets, but now the word is out.
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Most of Alaska can be rugged and impenetrable by car, but the 360-mile road trip between the state's largest cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks is a breeze.
With rising temperatures in southern Europe, more and more tourists are flocking to cooler destinations in the north.